5 Steps To Achieving What You Want In Your Life

We all dream of things we want to accomplish during our lives. The difference between those whose dreams come true and those whose do not can be summed up in one word: action.

It is true that sometimes we can get bogged down with day-to-day responsibilities and feel that we don’t have the time to focus on what we really want in life. But here is the tough love coaching on that: It’s no excuse.

Make Your Life Happen, Don’t Wait For Life To Happen To You

If you are serious about making a dream come true or accomplishing a specific goal in your life, career or personal, this 5-Step process will lay the groundwork for your success.

1. Imagine it as done and write down every detail about it. To imagine is fantastic, but when you are serious about moving into action you must write this stuff down. Something happens when we combine the cerebral with the physical and my experience as a coach is that the combination has a much higher rate of success.  Also include in this step how fantastic it feels to successfully achieve what you are after. Our emotions create chemical and energetic responses in the body which align with our goals and provide the inspiration we need to move into action.

2. Plan it by writing down the steps to achieve it. Work backwards. Write your accomplished goal/dream on the bottom line of a piece of paper. Move to the next line up and ask yourself, “What would I need to do just before achieving this? And what right before achieving that?”  Keep going until you fill the gap between your accomplished dream and today, where you are in this moment.

3. Do it by setting goals and timetables for completing the steps you outlined in #2. Once you have outlined the steps to achieving what you want, putting them into a realistic plan is critical. This is the time to integrate what you want to achieve with everything else you have going on in your life. Set yourself up for success by being realistic with your timetables and expectations. The key here is forward movement, it doesn’t necessarily have to be fast, but it most definitely must be steady.

4. Measure it regularly by honestly tracking your progress. Don’t let yourself off the hook unless you’ve truly decided to change directions or to change your timetable. Change is a very real part of life and life is unpredictable. Things happen and sometimes we have to alter our course. Just be mindful that you are doing so. Don’t let it slip away unconsciously or because you haven’t set good boundaries.  You cannot know if you have achieved anything without taking stock and measuring your progress, so create whatever system works for you but make sure you check on your own milestones.

5. Enjoy it thoroughly and not just the achievement of it, but every step in the process. This enjoyment is where the true miracle of life is. To feel good only when the end goal has arrived is to shortchange yourself and all of your hard work along the way. Celebrate and be proud of every step you take. When we are able to truly enjoy the journey itself we have achieved something great, perhaps greater than your original goal itself.

Sheila Madden is the CEO of Madden Coaching & Consulting where she coaches and consults with leaders of high growth companies, individuals wanting to live an extraordinary life and young professionals who are ready to launch their careers with competence, confidence and character.

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